TALE END Reviews - thus far
For those who don't remember..I rarely get to see much of any one show..so rather than my own comments I post those I hear from arriving and/or departing attendee's..
So..here we go!
Standing in line, waiting to get in.."So I hear she might..","..does she REALLY get..", and "..have you seen .." I guess their is some serious buzz going on abouth THAT!
Walking back towards Rogue Central, after seeing the show.."WOW, really cool concept, really nice idea for a 'behind the scenes' perspective", and "..did not expect that..it was well done.." and last but not least "..he did it..".
So..my random, not completely accurate, somewhat impartial opinion pole is that "Tale End" gets at least a B+. Now if they can just get some help from the American Rifle Association with their props..
Goon-In-Back | 03.04.07 - 12:14 pm
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"Tale End" is one amazing piece of theater - the script is excellent and the cast just plain stellar. I have probably never seen two actors crowd an almost bare stage like these two. All the twists worked, the play metaphors worked, and the characters worked. And it was brilliant how convincingly the two principals nuanced their characters' statures. They sure kept me on the edge of my chair! Bravo, bravo, bravo. This is a must see.
Tale end was indeed amazing, but a bit confusing, as well. It is quite enjoyable watching 2 such accomplished actors dominate the stage (both of which I have previously admired in their GCP roles), but the quickening pacing of the script near the end made it difficult to glean the truth of the situation - just wish it was easier to figure out the payoff. Otherwise, beautifully acted performance.
Tale End (Dianna's South)
"Tale End" the first play in five years for Marcel Nunis. If you can call a show that was much anticipated a sleeper then this is a sleeper, only because Rogue is usually thought of as good laughs, music, one [wo]man shows, and dance, but this is a devilishly good dramatic two person play. A postmodern fairytale within a play set in a world of make believe. Where each character plays two or three parts of the archetypal characters of the theatrical/fairytale world. From the hero to the villain, to the damsel in distress, to the devious seductress, to the never seen, but often talked about evil stepmother. This two person play was flawlessly acted. Renee Newlove & Greg Taber deserve heaps of accolades.
This play is a postmodern fairytale with a not so fairytale ending. It is as good as Rogue gets.
................................................................Nothing short of phenomenal!
Nothing short of phenomenal! Tale End is an ambitious and well-executed play that is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen at Rogue - definitely a must-see! This fast-paced drama is brilliantly written, with every word there for a reason as the gripping story developed. The two performers brought their characters to life with powerful emotion and variability. I was completely floored after I saw this; I actually had to just stand and let everything seep in for a few moments and then gradually let myself re-acclimate before going to the next show on my list. Note that there has been a performance added (not listed in the Rogue map) on Saturday, March 10 at 4pm at Dianna’s South.
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I was very pleased with Marcel Nunis's A Tale End, a dark reworking of the story of "Snow White." Renée Newlove and Greg Taber do a terrific job in their roles as a modern-day Snow White and the Hunter, and the play develops its characters very well--especially considering given the short period during which this complex tale unfolds. There are plenty of twists to the plot, which covers violence and murder, family secrets, sexuality, the tawdry lives of casino magnates, and Target store surveillance cameras. You'll want to pay close attention, as the story becomes intriguing and maze-like as it nears its close.
My complaints are few and minor: Newlove spends perhaps more time than is absolutely necessary in her underwear (although she wears lingerie very well), and I found myself wondering why Taber isn't made to strip down to his choneys? (What's good for the goose....) And the promo materials for the play push the will-she-or-won't-she-get-naked schtick a little too far, in my opinion. After all, the play is good enough to stand on the merits of its clever writing, its strong sense of character, and its deft handling of narrative. But hey, if a little titilation will bring the audiences in, the so be it. It's a tribute to Nunis and his actors that A Tale End actually needs little in the way of sensational hooks to make experiencing the play very worthwhile.
- Walrus Gumbo said...
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Whoa! This play does leave my head reeling or maybe it's just Renee's tempting vixen persona! (Whew! The lady is HOT!!!) Anyway, a very intriguing and ambitious work with enough twists and turns to keep you smirking. I relished how the manipulation volleyed back and forth. It really does make you enjoy it for all the wrong reasons! Sexy and devilishly fun! Highly recommended!
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- theatre275238 said...
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I'm sorry but this was the most dissappointing piece of theatre I've maybe ever seen. The script is atrocious. Someone had the idea lets write a play where none of the action happens on stage. That's always exciting. Then lets throw in plot twist after plot twist, although since there is no actual action on stage they are just expositonal twists. Then lets not worry about the fact that no one cares about these characters. When one "plot twist" doesn't work let's try 18 more. And if that's not exciting, lets put a gun on stage. We will make many promises we never fullfill. We'll advertise a suspensefull porno and put on a talky piece of expositon. We'll have that gun which, as a theatrical devise can be a very powerfull threat or promise and we will wave it around and point it so many times without it ever really mattering that people no longer care about that either.
Seriously, this is a group of people who should have known better than putting this on stage. They have talent and some knowledge and acted as though they through this together a week before hand in someone's basement. Yes the theatre has rules, and yes, rules are meant to be broken, but know what the rules are first and then why you are breaking them.
Not only was this show not worth my seven dollars. It wasn't worth my hour I spent in the room.
ROGUE REVIEW: Tale End
Marcel Nunis' "Tale End" is one of the big hits of this year's Rogue Festival. Performances are selling out, and another show has been added to the schedule Saturday. Word-of-mouth is a strange and wondrous beast; I've heard many more people talk about going to "Tale End" because it's hard to get into than because it's a good piece of theater.
But commerce and art have always been linked, and kudos to Nunis for being so adept at getting bodies into the seats.
Which leaves us with "Tale End" the play, which is not the same as "Tale End" the phenomenon. There's no question this is a high-octane production with a couple of highly charged performances from its hard-working actors, Renee Newlove and Greg Taber. With a frenzied series of plot twists and enough emotional jacknifes to give whiplash to a soap opera, this cheeky and fast-moving one-act production leaves the audience breathless.
However -- and this is a pretty big however -- this loose take-off on "Snow White" promises more than it can deliver. It's a few dwarves short of a septet.
Nunis does manage to twist the fairy tale in amusing ways. Miss White is a conniving, shallow, entitled teen under the keen and watchful eye of her vengeful stepmother. On this night she's opted to go shopping after-hours at the local Target store. The "hunter" from the original tale has become the chief of security at the "Kingdom," which instead of a land far away is a rundown Las Vegas casino. He's there to protect her. Or is he? Headstrong and strong-spirited, the two characters square off in a constantly shifting battle of wills. iPods, cell phones, handguns, sex talk and hard-R language are prominently featured.
I must admit to being very much a non-Snow White expert, so I may have missed some of the script's clever fairy-tale allusions. But I couldn't escape the feeling that while Nunis was very good at twisting this tale, he didn't know when to stop. He couldn't stop twisting. Instead of gradually weaning the audience onto the joke, or even providing an "aha" moment when things start to fall into this place, the plot keeps tying up even tighter. Perhaps it's because the link to the original fairy tale is more tenuous than it first seems. Is this a riff on Snow White, or is it a present-day back-and-forth between a prissy teen and a security guard? If it's the former, it needs a stronger and more significant connection to the source material. If it's the latter, then, the fairy-tale stuff should go out the window completely.
Both actors get a workout, and I had mixed feelings about them as the play rolled on. Newlove has a natural intensity on stage, and her confidence and poise is striking. But when it comes to emotional transitions, she needs much firmer and more astute direction. Taber is strong and charismatic, but, again, his character veers wildly, and while he can certainly handle the script's rollercoaster moves, it starts looking like a lot of effort.
Don't get me wrong: In some ways, "Tale End" is a natural crowd-pleaser and very slick. But if this cast plans to go on the road to other fringe festivals, as Newlove announced from the stage afterward, it's not going to be able to rest on its comfortable cushion of Fresno goodwill. It will have to win over audiences not just with its premise but with its execution. This "Tale" has promise, but I hope this isn't the end result.
Posted by
Donald Munro
05:14 PM
posted by lecram sinun | 5:17 PM
When you've watched enough theatre performances, you can tell when the cast is having an off night. It was tonight.
Here's the American Idol review:
Randy says: "Yo Dog, wha's happ'nen' dog? You know, you did your thing, dog. It was a little pitchy in places, but you did your thing, man."
Paula says: "Oh, gosh. I mean, gosh. Greg and Renee are so beautiful on stage. I just sorta wish, you know, that I could see Renee more. She needs to open up more to the audience...I felt bad for the people on the outside seats who saw her back much of the time. A beautiful back, tho..."
Simon says (c'mon, do the accent in your head): "Well, for me, to be honest, I could see where the playwrite was going with this, but it might have been better read than performed. Some of the dialogue, exposition and references got bogged down and were tough to perform, no matter how good the actors were."
Ryan Seacrest then jokes "Okay, let me get this straight. Renee's character is supposed to be what? 22 or 23? She looks 26. Greg's character is supposed to be near 40? He looks 28. And he's s'posed to have a bald spot? Um, no."
Randy: "Man, dog, I was thinkin' that, dog, but my problem was I sat in the back row and couldn't hear Greg half the time, or else he was shoutin', dog. It was rough, dog..."
Paula: "I think Greg should have been in his underwear. No, kidding. No, serious."
Simon: "Paula, I agree with you on one thing...because I didn't understand the whole 'does she get naked' marketing thing. It took away from a great story idea and one of the most solid plays from Marcel I'd seen. I know you have to get arse's into seats, but, and I'm not being rude, but it took away from things."
Paula: "I just think if she has to act in her nightgown, Greg has to strip at gunpoint to his chonies."
Simon: "Paula, you're drunk."
And she, of course, is.
Rather than try to summarize the plot of Tale End, because getting there is far more than half the fun, I’ll just offer a few comments of the short, choppy variety.
Tale End is intriguing, funny, well-staged and well-performed, sexy, mysterious, dense and smart. At times you’ll be scratching your head a bit wondering what the hell’s going on, and enjoying that sensation of head-scratching along that way. And really, what’s better than a little head scratching? Numerous and unexpected plot twists and a clever concept. And it’s selling out, so line up on time.
Barry Smith